Ron Fisher A Man With Integrity

RON FISHER OUR CANDIDATE WITH THE INTEGRITY TO SAY IT LIKE IT IS
IN THE NO SPIN ZONE.

THE CONNECTION NEWSPAPERS Alexandria Gazette

http://www.alexandriagazette.com/article.asp?article=89264&cat=104

Virginians Post http://www.peaceandaccountability.com

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
By Michael Lee Pope
October 24, 2007

Discouraging Dream

Republican Mark Allen, who is vying to replace incumbent Del. David Englin (D-45), admits that he has had a difficult time on the campaign trail. After considering a run at the Democratic primary, Allen chose to take Englin on as a Republican, initiating a race that he freely acknowledges has been trying and, at times, discouraging. In a meeting with editors and reporters for this newspaper last week, Allen said that he received calls wishing for his untimely demise and arrived at his office one morning to find dog poop on his front stoop — a nasty discovery that he blamed on "immature" supporters of his opponent.

Despite the difficulties, Allen said, he has forged ahead — sure that the democratic process was worthy of his efforts. Yet he did acknowledge one thing that would make him throw in the towel.

"I had a dream that I won, and then (Alexandria Mayor) Bill Euille ran against me," Allen said. "I don’t think I’d file for re-election if that happened."

No Calls, Please

Although his campaign last year for School Board was unsuccessful, Sanford Horn has remained an important part of the political scene in Alexandria. Earlier this week, he moderated a debate at Agudas Achim featuring several contested races for the House of Delegates and the chairmanship of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Knowing that it was important moment for the candidates and the voters, Horn wanted to make sure he approached the forum with the amount of respect it required — unlike a certain presidential candidate who answered a telephone call from his wife in the middle of a speech to the National Rifle Association.

"Let me make sure my cell phone is turned off," he said, fishing through his pockets. "I don’t want to pull a Rudy Giuliani here."

Constituent Forbearers

As one of the three Jewish members of Virginia’s House of Delegates, Del. Adam Ebbin (D-49) feels that he holds a tremendous responsibility to represent his constituents and his ancestors. During a candidate forum in Alexandria earlier this week, Ebbin explained how the duty is one that he thinks about frequently.

"A lot of the House members have the wristbands, you’ve probably seen them, that say, ‘What would Jesus do?’" Ebbin said. "I’ve often thought that I need one that says ‘What would Rabbi Hillel do?’ — or, better yet, ‘What would my grandparents do?’"

THE IMPEACHMENT CAMPAIGN

Ebbin has no Republican challenger, although he has competition from Independent Green candidate James Ronald Fisher.

The Ebbin-Fisher race is more than a little lopsided, with Ebbin raising $114,000 compared to Fisher’s very modest fundraising total of $450.

Fisher said he has no specific disagreement with anything that Ebbin has done in office. The point of his campaign, as he has explained at a number of candidate forums over the past few weeks, is to seek the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney and an immediate withdraw of troops from Iraq.

"The House of Delegates could pass resolutions encouraging impeachments and withdraw, and I would work to make that happen if elected," said the long-shot candidate before one forum earlier this month. "The truth is that I’m not running against Adam so much as I am running for peace and accountability

CAPTAIN OF THE SHIP

RON FISHER WANTS TO PUT HIS NAVAL LEADERSHIP SKILLS TO USE IN RICHMOND.
By David Schultz
October 24, 2007

Ron Fisher
Party: Independent Green
Age: 72
Birthplace: Bemis, Tenn.
Family: Wife, four sons & two stepchildren
Occupation: Retired
Phone contact: 703-521-3926
Email: dfpa@aol.com

Ron Fisher a first-time House of Delegates candidate is chock full of thoughts and opinions that spew forth almost faster than his mouth can expel them.

Illegal immigration?

"Immigrants are here… They’re not here to steal money. They’re here because we’re dumping corn and wheat down in Mexico."

Criminal justice?

"I’ve been strong against the death penalty forever. We’re spending $5 to 10 million to execute. You can keep them in jail for one tenth of that."

And the Iraq War:

"We need to bring our National Guard home and get the U.N. in there. Every bullet fired over there is a war crime. That’s the only way to describe it."

Fisher, a longtime Arlington resident and a retired Navy Captain, is using his candidacy as a platform to weigh in on all the pressing issues of the day such as abusive driver fees ("just a cheap shot"), predatory lenders ("The usury rates are rampant here") and overzealous judges ("They tried to give me a $2,500 fine for being on my own property").

Those opinions may be controversial, but what Fisher lacks in diplomacy, he more than makes up for in confidence.

"With my experience and skills, I can lead this thing out of some of this morass," Fisher said. "They need someone like me down there [in Richmond]."

IF FISHER WERE elected, he would bring his General Assembly colleagues the viewpoints and experience of nearly 30 years in the military. As a Navy Captain, he made 15 patrols and worked in a naval shipyard. "They’re known for being lazy and not doing their job but I had a hell of a great time there," he recalled. "We did some amazing things."

"He spent close to 30 years in the Navy," said Greg Wiezerbicki, who is involved in the group Veterans For Peace with Fisher. "That speaks quite highly of anyone’s leadership skills."

Fisher is also an expert on nuclear submarine technology and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in the same class as U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), with whom he has remained friends ever since.

A lifelong Republican, Fisher worked on McCain’s presidential campaign in 1999, which he eventually lost to George W. Bush.

But a few years after Bush’s first inauguration, Fisher became disillusioned and left the Republican Party. According to him, the Republicans were the ones who left him.

"These guys aren’t even close to being [real] Republicans," he said. "I realized Bush was not qualified to be president early on."

THIS YEAR, Fisher is running for the House of Delegates seat in the 49th district, which stretches from northern Alexandria through South Arlington and into Fairfax County, on the ticket of the Independent Green Party.

Not to be confused with the Green Party of Ralph Nader fame, the Independent Green Party is localized in Virginia and is fielding several dozen candidates for local and state offices this year.

The Independent Greens are a loosely affiliated group with few overarching principles other than the expansion of rail transportation across the country and the belief that running for public office is a victory in itself.

Fisher said that he decided to run his first campaign as an Independent Green because he liked the wide latitude the party granted him.

"They are independent," he said. "They don’t tell me how I have to vote or what I have to do."

Fisher’s party is enamored of him as well. Carey Campbell, the state chairman of the Independent Green Party, called Fisher "an American hero" and "a brilliant man."

"He’s an energetic, passionate voice in the community for what’s right and good," Campbell said.

How did you get involved in politics?

When I retired [from the Navy] in 1984 I saw a real need for some change and reform and education… I got interested in [politics] when I went through the court system for a divorce. I’m probably [in the] one percent of the people in this state who knows how judges are elected. I’m [also] a good friend of [U.S. Sen.] John McCain’s (R-Ariz.). We graduated in the same company and went to Europe together. When he started running for office [in 1999], I really thought he would be a fantastic president. I was [his] chairman in Northern Virginia and I really started it… I see McCain at different events. He’s way too much pro-war for me but he’s still a great friend… After the McCain thing, I’ve really borne down on it.

What is the biggest issue facing Virginia right now?

I will talk about a number of issues. The critical thing for me is back to getting the money that’s going into these dumb weapons systems. Affordable housing is really a critical issue. We’re losing housing instead of gaining it here. That’s tied in closely with the traffic. There’s no Metro stops in the whole [49th House of Delegates] district. It’s gerrymandered… We need a single payer health care system… Do we have enough money for transportation? I don’t really know if it’s enough but I do know that they’re spending it on the wrong thing. The idea is to listen to the people and do these things…

If elected, what would be your first priority when you go down to Richmond?

I would be looking at every place they’re spending money. I’m going to try to do this before the election. I want people to see where we’re spending it. We have to figure out a way to get people employed. Some people didn’t have the opportunities that I’ve had. With cleaning these streams and getting ready for global warming, there’s plenty of work to be done.

What is one area in which you feel your opponent [Del. Adam Ebbin (D-49)] made a mistake?

One that Ebbin and I would agree on was the marriage amendment that went into the Bill of Rights. They’re taking away rights and putting it into the Bill of Rights. He fought against that… [Also Ebbin] said "I’m against the war." I’m not picking on him, but I think they all ought to be marching in these marches and standing on the street corners.

SUPPORT RON FISHER; BELIEVE IT OR NOT INTEGRITY STILL MATTERS.